WASHINGTON -- A federal appeals court Friday rejected what it called a Bush administration attempt to "pull a surprise switcheroo" by weakening the government's authority to monitor air pollution from power plants, refineries and factories.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia annulled the Environmental Protection Agency's revisions of air pollution monitoring requirements last year. The court's action returns for the time-being a stricter, Clinton-era standard that allows EPA and states to require more monitoring from plants when they renew their operating permits every five years.
Writing for a three-judge panel, Judge David Sentelle said an EPA settlement last year with the utility and other industry groups on monitoring requirements contradicted the agency's 2002 interpretation of the Clean Air Act.
"The upshot of EPA's final interpretation ... is that state permitting authorities are now prohibited from adding new monitoring requirements," wrote Sentelle, who was appointed to the court by President Ronald Reagan. "This flip-flop complies with the (law) only if preceded by adequate notice and opportunity for public comment."
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